# Rochester City School District

The Rochester City School District is a public school district that serves approximately 21,000 students in the city of Rochester, New York. It is currently operating with a budget of $1.065 billion, which comes out to approximately $50,700 per student. This is, according to Census Bureau data, $20,827 more than the New York State average of $29,873 per student, and over three times the national average of $15,633 per student.

## Organization

The school district is run by a board of education that sets school policy and approves school spending. The board hires a superintendent under contract to carry out its policies.

### Board of education

The board of education consists of seven members, elected biennially, who serve staggered four-year terms.
The current board members are:
* Cynthia Elliott, President
** Board Liaison to: Abraham Lincoln School No. 22, Dr. Alice Holloway Young School of Excellence, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 9, Franklin Lower and Upper Schools, Leadership Academy for Young Men, Rochester International Academy
** Term Expires: December 2025
* Beatriz LeBron, Vice President
** Board Liaison to: All City High, James Monroe Lower and Upper Schools, Clara Barton School No. 2, Virgil I. Grissom School No. 7, Anna Murray-Douglass Academy School No. 12, Children's School of Rochester School No. 15, Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School School No. 19, Adlai E. Stevenson School No. 29
** Term Expires: December 2028
* Isaiah Santiago, Commissioner
** Board Liaison to: Northeast College Preparatory High School, Northwest Junior High, Wilson Foundation Academy, Roberto Clemente School No. 8, Dr. Walter Cooper Academy School No. 10, John Walton Spencer School School No. 16, Pinnacle School No. 35, Andrew J. Townson School No. 39, and Rochester Early Childhood Education Center (RECEC)
** Term Expires: December 2028
* Amy Maloy, Commissioner
** Board Liaison to: LyncX Academy, Home Hospital Instruction, NorthSTAR, School of the Arts, John Williams School No. 5, Dr. Louis A. Cerulli School No. 34, Montessori Academy School School No. 53, World of Inquiry School School No. 58
** Term Expires: December 2028
* James Patterson, Commissioner
** Board Liaison to: OACES Program, Youth and Justice Program, Enrico Fermi School No. 17, Charles Carroll School No. 46, Helen Barrett Montgomery School No. 50, Flower City School No. 54
** Term Expires: December 2025
* Jaqueline Griffin, Commissioner
** Board Liaison to: School Without Walls, Francis Parker School No. 23, Nathaniel Hawthorne School No. 25, Henry Hudson School No. 28, John James Audubon School No. 33, Mary McLeod Bethune School No. 45, Frank Fowler Dow School No. 52
** Term Expires: December 2028
* Camille Simmons, Commissioner
** Board Liaison to: Edison Career & Technology High School, P-Tech Pathways to Technology at Edison, Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School, Rochester Early College International High School, Rochester Preschool Parent Program, Rise Community School No. 106, George Mather Forbes School No. 4, Abelard Reynolds School No. 42
** Term Expires: December 2025

### Superintendent and supporting team

Past superintendents :
| Name | Tenure | Name | Tenure |
| Isaac F. Mack | 1841–1845 | John M. Franco | March 1, 1971 – June 16, 1971 (acting) June 17, 1971 – 1980 |
| Samuel L. Selden | January 1, 1846 – November 1, 1846 | Laval Wilson | 1980 – 1985 |
| Belden R. McAlpine | November 2, 1846 – 1847 | Peter J. McWalters | 1985 (acting) 1986–1992 |
| Daniel Holbrook | 1847–1850 1857–1858 1862–1864 | Manuel J. Rivera | 1992–1994 September 1, 2002 – April 30, 2007 |
| Reuben D. Jones | 1850–1856 | Loretta Johnson | 1994–1995 (acting) |
| Isaac S. Hobbie | 1856–1857 | Clifford B. Janey | 1995 – August 31, 2002 |
| Philip H. Curtis | 1858–1861 | William C. Cala | 2007 – December 31, 2007 (interim) |
| Charles N. Simmons | 1864–1869 1876–1878 1881–1882 | Jean-Claude Brizard | January 1, 2008 – May 13, 2011 |
| Sylvanus A. Ellis | 1869–1875 1882–1892 | Bolgen T. Vargas | May 16, 2011 – December 31, 2015 |
| Alonzo L. Mabbett | 1878–1881 | Daniel G. Lowengard | January 1 – 15, 2016 (interim) |
| Milton Noyes | 1892–1900 | Linda L. Cimusz | January 18, 2016 – July 2016 (interim) |
| Charles B. Gilbert | 1901–1909 | Barbara Deane Williams | August 8, 2016 – January 31, 2019 |
| Clarence F. Carroll | 1903–1911 | Daniel G. Lowengard | February 1, 2019 – June 2019 (interim) |
| Herbert S. Weet | 1911–1933 | Terry J. Dade | July 2019 – May 2020 |
| James M. Spinning | 1934 – November 1, 1954 | Lesli C. Myers-Small | May 2020 – September 2022 |
| Howard C. Seymour | November 1, 1954 – December 31, 1960 | Carmine Peluso | September 2022 - January 2023 (interim) January 2023 - present |
| James S. Wishart | January 1, 1961 – August 31, 1961 (acting) | |
| Robert L. Springer | September 1, 1961 – May 31, 1963 | |
| Herman R. Goldberg | June 1, 1963 – July 31, 1963 (acting) August 1, 1963 – March 1, 1971 | |

## Facilities
### Schools
#### Pre-Kindergarten Centers

* Florence S. Brown PreK Center at School No. 33 (PreK), Program Administrator - Dr. Margaret Brazwell
* Rochester Early Childhood Education Center NE (PreK–1), Director - Lisa Traficante-Loncao

#### Elementary schools

* George Mather Forbes School No. 4 (PreK–6), Principal - Karon Jackson, Assistant Principal - Delores Davis
* John Williams School No. 5 (PreK–6), Principal - Tiffany Lee, Assistant Principals - George Lombrado
* Virgil I. Grissom School No. 7 (PreK–6), Principal - David Lincoln, Assistant Principal - Mark Wilkins
* Roberto Clemente School No. 8 (PreK–6), Principal - Stephanie Thompson, Assistant Principals - Andrew Grantham
* Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School No. 9 (PreK–6), Principal - Sharon Jackson, Assistant Principals - Burnice Green and Maria Ortiz-Viera
* Dr. Walter Cooper Academy School No. 10 (PreK–6), Principal - Eva Thomas, Assistant Principals - Jason Wertz
* Anna Murray-Douglass Academy No. 12 (PreK–6), Principal - Kathleen Trepanier, Assistant Principals - Margaret Crowley and Faith Hart
* The Children's School of Rochester No. 15 (PreK–6), - Principal - Jay Piper, Assistant Principal - Chanta Willis
* John Walton Spencer School No. 16 (PreK–6), Principal - Lisa Garrow, Assistant Principal - Robert Burns
* Enrico Fermi School No. 17 (PreK–6), Principal - Yajaira Nguyen, Assistant Principals - Nancy Coddington and William Cronmiller
* Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School No. 19 (PreK–6), Principal -Andrea Lee, Assistant Principal - Elizabeth Cross
* Abraham Lincoln School No. 22 (PreK–6), Principal - Clinton Bell, Assistant Principal - Kristal Haines
* Francis Parker School No. 23 (PreK–6), Principal - Kathryn Yarlett-Fenti, Assistant Principal - Carla Roberts
* Nathaniel Hawthorne School No. 25 (PreK–6), Principal - Adrienne Steflik, Assistant Principal - Denise Quamina
* Henry Hudson School No. 28 (K–8), Principal - Susan Ladd, Assistant Principals - Brenda Harrington and Jennifer Monroe-DeWitz
* Adlai E. Stevenson School No. 29 (PreK–6), Principal - Joseph Baldino, Assistant Principal - Thomas Anderson
* John James Audubon School No. 33 (PreK–6), Principal - Melody Martinez-Davis, Assistant Principals - Margaret Brazwell (Florence S. Brown PreK), Bonnie Ellis (Blue House), Michelle Killings (Gray House), and Thomas Pappas (Gold House)
* Dr. Louis A. Cerulli School No. 34 (PreK–6), Principal - D'Onnarae Johnson, Assistant Principal - Akilah Collins
* Pinnacle School No. 35 (K–6), Principal - Brenda Torres-Santana, Assistant Principal - Valerie L. Holberton
* Andrew J. Townson School No. 39 (PreK–6), Principal - Ryan Claire, Assistant Principal - Luke Wilson
* Abelard Reynolds School No. 42 (PreK–6), Principal - Lisa Whitlow, Assistant Principal - Mark Davis
* Mary McLeod Bethune School No. 45 (PreK–8), Principal and Administrator Grades PreK-2 - Christine Manuele-Turnquist, Assistant Principal Grades 3-5 - Patricia Brockler, Assistant Principal Grades 6-8 - Thomas Anderson
* Charles Carroll School No. 46 (PreK–6), Principal - Gina DiTullio, Assistant Principal - Theodora Waters
* Helen Barrett Montgomery School No. 50 (PreK–8), Principal - Connie Wehner, Assistant Principal - Felecia Drysdale and Lynda Mortis
* Frank Fowler Dow School No. 52 (PreK–6), Principal - Mary Ferguson, Assistant Principal - Redell Freeman
* Montessori Academy School No. 53 (PreK–6), Principal - Dr. Kimberly Harris-Pappin, Assistant Principal - Elisa Ruise
* The Flower City School No. 54 (PreK–6), Principal - Jody Durick, Assistant Principal - Tylynn Presha
* World of Inquiry School No. 58 (K–12), Principal - Kwame Donko-Hanson, Assistant Principals - Stephen Campe and Nyree Wims-Hall, Academy Director, Jennifer Johnson

#### Secondary schools

* East Lower School (6–8), Principal - LeAndrew Wingo, Assistant Principals - Jeffrey Halsdorfer, and Joseph Saia
* East Upper School (9–12), Principal - Marlene Blocker, Assistant Principals - Akua Kankam, Maycanitza Perez, Deon Rodgers, and Michele Sadik, Freshman Academy Director - Edward Mascadri
* Edison Career & Technology High School (9–12), Principal - Jacob Scott, Assistant Principals - Josephine Buonomo-Cilento, Heidi Jackson, and Jerome Vacca, Academy Directors - Robert Goldsberry and Babette Phillips
* James Monroe Upper School (9–12), Principal - Jason Muhammad, Assistant Principals - Anthony Bianchi, Bernadette Regan, and Anthony Rodriguez
* Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School (9–12), Principal - Julie VanDerWater, Assistant Principals - Chantal Lischer and Gary Reynolds
* Rochester Early College International High School (9–12), Principal - Uma Mehta, Assistant Principals - Steve Soprano, Abraham Steiner
* School of the Arts (7–12), Principal - Alan Tirre, Assistant Principals - Samantha Brody, Luke Wilson, Brian Chandler, and Elimy Buss, Athletic Director - David Michelsen, Arts Center Director - Andrea Gregoire
* School Without Walls (9–12), Principal - Coretta Wright, Assistant Principal - Lakisha Wilson

### Middle Schools
#### School and alternative programs

* All City High (10–12), Principal - Armando Ramirez, Assistant Principal - Megan Brady-Onisk, Academy Director - Susen Hart
* Family Learning Center at OACES - Program Administrator - Paul Burke
* Home Hospital Instruction (7–12), Director - Christopher Smith
* LyncX Academy (7–12), Director - Christopher Smith
* NorthSTAR Program, Director of Alternative Education Programs - James Nunez
* Rochester International Academy, Principal - Mary Andrecolich-Diaz
* Youth & Justice, Director - Michael A. Allen, II

#### Former schools

* Charlotte High School - closed 2016
* John Marshall High School - closed 2014

#### Gallery

* Charlotte
* Dr. Freddie Thomas
* Douglass
* East
* Edison
* Franklin
* Jefferson
* Madison
* Marshall
* Monroe
* SOTA
* School Without Walls
* Wilson

## Performance

In 2019, the Rochester City School District was ranked the 3rd worst school district in upstate New York, and in 2017 it was ranked the 8th worst in New York State.
In 2007, the New York State Education Department named 14 Rochester elementary schools among the state's "most improved" schools in English language arts and/or math. Newsweek ranked Wilson Magnet High School 49th among the nation's top 100 high schools based on advanced curriculum.
The Children's Institute, a non-profit children's advocacy organization, has ranked the district's pre-K program one of the best in the nation.

## Configuration redesign

In 2003, a plan to redesign the grade-level configuration was approved by the board of education. It changed the district from one of elementary schools (preK–5), middle schools (6–8) and high schools (9–12) to one of elementary schools (pre-K–6) and secondary schools (7–12). The plan was implemented in stages over four years.

## Media coverage

Given the district's continued struggles there has been much local media coverage analyzing the district from varying perspectives, and most recently this has been done through the Democrat and Chronicle's Time to Educate Series. The motto of this media initiative is "Something. Must. Change." In 2018 the editorial board of that paper wrote "It is time to declare an emergency".